-Howlin' Wolf's earliest recordings (1951 - 1953), recorded by Sam Phillips at his Memphis Recording Service and unreleased at the time! -Alternate versions and unreleased masters discovered more than 25 years later. -Brutal, primal electric blues from one of the true greats of the genre! -Willie Johnson's guitar amp barely survived these sessions. -Digitally copied from the original sources and currently remastered for the vinyl edition using state-of-the-art studio technology. -Liner notes and discographical details in the illustrated booklet by British blues expert and historian Martin Hawkins. -Coming soon: 'Boy, You Got More Blues There' (BAF14032) with another 10 originally unreleased Memphis recordings. This 10 vinyl LP contains music that cemented the style of one of the greats of the Mississippi blues and later of Chicago rhythm and blues. Between May 1951 and early 1953 the Howlin' Wolf, Chester Burnett, made his first-ever recording sessions. They took place in Tennessee at the Memphis Recording Service, where producer and engineer Sam Phillips was not afraid to take a chance on a singer who was already over forty years old and whose then small claim to fame was a local radio show across the river at KWEM in West Memphis. In fact, nothing would have stopped Phillips recording the Wolf. Phillips was captivated by his voice. He was the first to hear and understand the man's potential. Sam Phillips said that he heard Wolf on the radio and got word to him at KWEM that he would be interested in recording him. He placed him under contract in spring 1951, and sold Wolf's recordings to Chess Records in Chicago. The first release, How Many More Years, became a national number four R&B chart hit that summer. Chester Burnett, the Howlin' Wolf, only recorded in Memphis for two years, but that was time enough for him and his band with the ingenious guitarist Willie Johnson to perfect many of his trademark phrases, howls, rhythms, riffs, and solos.
